OIAF Announces Awards
by Staff
(September 29, 2019 – Ottawa, ON) The 43rd annual Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) draws to a close today. Yesterday it announced those animated features and shorts that have won awards at North America’s leading animated film festival.
This year the OIAF received 2,424 entries from 93 countries and selected 117 to screen in competition. The Nelvana Grand Prize for Feature Animation has been awarded to On Gaku: Our Sound. Directed by Kenji Iwaisawa, the project began in 2012 and then in 2015 he went on the hunt for live-action footage at rock festivals and then turned to crowdfunding in 2018 to complete his work on the film. On Gaku: Our Sound follows three delinquents who start their own rock band even though none of them had ever played a musical instrument before. It opened in Japan in January of this year. The jury said this about why it selected this film: “For being a triumph of economic storytelling without sacrificing the richness of its characters. We were particularly impressed with the perfect timing, the simplicity of design, and the joyous celebration of the medium of animation.”
The Nelvana Grand Prize for Independent Short was awarded to Don’t Know What, directed by Thomas Renolder.
The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) Award for Best Canadian Animation went to Physique De La Tristesse/The Physics of Sorrow by Theodore Ushev. It is described as having an arresting, expressive style in its searching contemplation of identity and exile, and its fearless fusing of imagination and autobiography. Two other flms were given Honourable mentions: Finding Uranus by Ivan Li and Girl In The Hallway from Valerie Barnhart.
Following is the full list of other prize winners at the 2019 OIAF:
ANIMATION FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES COMPETITION: PRESCHOOL
Winner: Le Tigre Sans Rayures (A Tiger With No Stripes)
Second Place: Fuwa Fuwa Hour ‘PuiPui & MuuMuu Itsumo Issyo’ (Fluffy Hour ‘PuiPui & MuuMuu Always Together’)
Third Place: Nest and I am Not Afraid of the Crocodile
ANIMATION FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES COMPETITION AGES 6 TO 12
Winner: Looney Tunes Cartoons: Curse of the Monkey Bird
Special mention: Matches and Teofrastas
ANIMATED SERIES
Bee and PuppyCat: Lazy in Space, ‘Little Fingers’
CRAFT AWARDS:
BEST SCRIPT:
Acid Rain
Jury Comment: “For its haunting storytelling, cinematic fluidity, and vividly-rendered perspective.”
BEST DESIGN:
The Six
Jury Comment: “For its arrangement of the frame, which was both economical and ornate, blending antique and contemporary styles.”
BEST TECHNIQUE:
Erodium Thunk
Jury Comment: “For its intelligent arrangement of source material and fascinating transitions.”
BEST SOUND:
Slug Life
Jury Comment: “The complex sound design and original music contributed to this film’s rich, exuberant landscape.”
VIRTUAL REALITY:
Gymansia
Jury Comment: “For the way it guides the eye around a simple space, with great control over composition, leading up to a moment remarkable for its corporeal sensation of the glance.”
COMMISSIONED ANIMATION:
Tricky Women 2019 Trailer
Jury Comment: “This tricky trailer made our hearts skip a beat.”
NON-NARRATIVE ANIMATION:
Erodium Thunk
Jury Comment: “With its compelling balance of control and chance, this ever-morphing collage just kept surprising us.”
ANIMATION GUILD STUDENT AWARD:
Alfred Fauchet, Here and There
Jury Comment: “For its sophisticated play on the idea of polyphony, and its clever blend of absurdity and abstraction. ”
CARTOON NETWORK AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE SHORT:
Slug Life
Jury Comment: “Because it is wild, janky, and funny. The vocal performance, quotable dialogue, and boneless narrative structure are refreshingly liberating.”
CANADIAN STUDENT
Winner:
Finding Uranus, Ivan Li, Emily Carr University of Art and Design
2nd place: J’ai Hiberné toute l’année, Adele Vendette, Concordia University
3rd place: The Fox and The Pigeon, various directors, Sheridan College
VIMEO STAFF PICK AWARD:
Girl in the Hallway
PUBLIC PRIZE:
Gravedad
This year’s Short, Feature and Young Audience Competition screenings were judged by three official juries. The Competition Feature Jury featured Lizzy Hobbs, Faiyaz Jafri, and Lei Lei. Hobbs is a BAFTA award-winning animator known for her use of unique mediums and historical storytelling, Jafri is an award-winning animator and professor at Parsons School of Design in New York. Lei Lei is China’s indie darling in animation, known worldwide for breaking out of his country’s rigid creative mould.
The Competition Short Jury included Emily Pelstring, Piotr Bosacki, and Eva Cvijanovic. Pelstring is a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, and brought the Kathy Rose retrospective to this year’s festival. Bosacki works in the Intermedia Department at the University of Arts in Poznan, where his work finely blend literature and the spoken word with the moving image. Cvijanovic is the award-winning director of the beloved NFB short, Hedgehog’s Home, and is an animator living and working out of Montreal.
The Kids Jury, comprised of Ottawa-area children between the ages of 8-12, judged the Young Audiences: Preschool and Ages 6-12 Competitions.
Find more information about the Ottawa International Animation Festival online.
